Brandon Fanboys Over 2NE1′s L.A. Concert

24-7KPOP Team Member Brandon V. attended 2NE1′s Los Angeles concert (with myself, Christan, and follower Sophia Y this past weekend and Brandon wanted to share his experience (even though he’s been too lazy to create a work login…..we still love him anyway…)

Well to say that I was excited about the 2ne1 concert would be an understatement. When I heard they were going to be coming to LA for a show I went and bought a ticket the day they went on sale. I had no idea what kind of affect seeing my favorite KPOP group would have on me.

I wouldn’t call myself a huge fan of KPOP, in fact 2ne1 is really the only group I listen to. This was very confusing to me as I really don’t approve of pop music and appreciate artists that write their own songs and develop their own styles. I guess there is just something infectious about the beats and choreography that speaks to something inside of me.

The week of the concert there was a weird vibe pulsing through me like I was on some kind of high so you can imagine what it was like the day of. I went through a whole slew of emotions but basically I was really excited to see the girls and of course my personal bias Dara (oh Dara!). I spent the time of the concert with my new friend Kim who runs a KPOP related blog and had just moved to California. Now initially she wasn’t going to the concert but after a few emails she got promised two tickets for her and another member from the site and of course they were better than mine . Yes I had a seat in the very last row and I was worried I’d pass out from the lack of oxygen. Thankfully the venue wasn’t so big that I couldn’t see the girls and really with the jumbotron the seats weren’t quite so bad.

Now for those who know me they know I’m pretty reserved so when I saw the fans outside the Nokia I realized I was in no way a super fan. They had t-shirts and glow sticks and someone had even managed to organize a flash mob. Now I’ve never actually seen a flash mob in person but I’m pretty sure that it’s not a flash mob if everyone knows you’re doing it and also that there is no music. Still kudos to those who danced in it you’re much braver than I am.

Finally the show started and there were my girls on stage. CL, Minzy, Bom and Dara came out wearing bright neon track suits with gold chains spelling out the groups name and and their faces silkscreened on their jackets. I found myself bouncing along to most of the songs and sometimes singing out the lyrics to my favorite. Thankfully for a Korean group a lot of their songs have English verses. I grew insanely jealous when during the song “Kiss” Dara invited a guy on stage and kissed him on the cheek. Oh how I wish that were me! They also had awesome backup dancers and a really great band. And for the finale they performed “I am the best” only with a slight twist. Will.i.am and Apl.d.ap. of the Black Eyed Peas came on and did an improvised rap. I think they even put it on Youtube!

Sadly all good things must come to and end and when they came on stage and took their bows, my heart sunk. I’d never experienced anything like it before. Here I was seeing my favorite group who I thought I’d never see unless I went to Korea and I was sad. I don’t really go to concerts so I wasn’t used to this feeling. I met up with Kim and we walked to the back of the theater to see if we could spot 2ne1 getting into their cars to go back to the hotel. Their security team must be old pros because as we were looking at a black SUV parked right at the back door, the girls sped away in two other cars that were hidden behind their tour bus. I caught about a five second glimpse of Minzy’s face and I waved like an idiot. Feeling dejected I took the train to met up with my friend Jon. I think I must have got 4 hours of sleep last night as I kept looking up 2ne1 on Twitter trying to see if they had a good time performing in LA. Turns out they had gone to a club and hung out with a local comedian. Curse you PK that should have been me!!

Well I’m home now and I think I’m slowly overcoming the sadness of the concert being over. I still can’t for the life of me explain the effect it’s had on me. I suppose it’s true what they say about art and music being a universal language and if so they spoke volumes at least to me. I’m truly grateful for being able to see 2ne1 and I really hope that they come to LA again next year and you can be sure that this time I’m going to spring for the orchestra seats and I hope some of you will join me

PHOTO COURTESY OF LA TIMES.

ADDITIONAL: Since I (Kim) don’t have the time to write my own experience of the concert (too lazy), I will sum it up in one paragraph of randomness:

It was fun meeting up with some of the 24-7KPOP followers! This includes April G., who also remembered to send in her video of the pre-concert flashmob:

Christan and I sat in the “special people” section as we called it. We were in Orchestra seats, near Jeremy Scott, Dumbfoundead, PK, and Chad Future. We were pleasantly surprised when WILL.I.AM graced the stage. Both Christan and I were super awkward NOT taking pics (we’ve gotten used to working these concerts), so we had to learn to relax and just have fun as concert-goers! After the show, we hugged people we knew and ran into (including Chad) and then we had a chance to go backstage and meet the girls but stupidly stepped outside to search for our other buddies…..*sigh* We’ll get our chance at some point…..